Controversial Issues In August Wilson's Plays

The controversial issues of women 's rights and equality for blacks in America during the 19th and 20th centuries ' are themes that paved the way for the success of two famous historical playwrights. Henrik Ibsen, one of the founders of modernism in theater, explores throughout some of his plays the theme of gender roles during the 19th century. August Wilson 's plays "constitute a cycle that traces the black experience in America throughout the twentieth century" (1027). He emphasizes the struggle for equality among African-Americans during the 20th century. In two famous dramatic plays, A Doll 's House, by Henrik Ibsen, and Fences, by August Wilson, the fictional characters develop conflicts in their relationships which lend to the themes
Troy Maxson, the main character, can be compared to Torvald Helmer. Troy too, unconsciously 'throws off ' parts of himself onto his family, specifically onto his son, Cory. Cory is offered the chance to go to college on a football scholarship, yet Troy ruins his son 's chances by not signing the recruit form. In Troy 's eyes, he sees his son getting the same athletic rejection Troy experienced when he was younger. Troy was a skilled baseball player, as said by Troy, and the other characters in the play, he would have made it to the Major Leagues if it were not for the color of his skin. He is very bitter about this injustice, and has allowed it to affect him into his adulthood. Troy 's response to Cory 's recruitment is, "I told that boy about that football stuff. The white man ain 't gonna let him get nowhere with that football" (1033). Troy has a low expectation of what black men can do with their lives just because these low expectations were put onto him. His unconscious 'throwing off ' of his own past onto Cory essentially damages their father-son